Looks Like Occupy Chased the G8 Out of Chicago

This is oldish news, but in case you hadn't heard: The G8 was supposed to meet, along with NATO, in Chicago this May. In January, Adbusters put out the call for people to amass in Chicago for an Occupy-style protest:

Against the backdrop of a global uprising that is simmering in dozens of countries and thousands of cities and towns, the G8 and NATO will hold a rare simultaneous summit in Chicago this May. The world’s military and political elites, heads of state, 7,500 officials from 80 nations, and more than 2,500 journalists will be there.

And so will we.

On May 1, 50,000 people from all over the world will flock to Chicago, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and #OCCUPYCHICAGO for a month. With a bit of luck, we’ll pull off the biggest multinational occupation of a summit meeting the world has ever seen.

A few weeks ago, the Obama Administration announced it would move the G8 meeting to the more secure location of Camp David. The White House explained that Camp David would offer a more "intimate" setting for a "free-flowing discussion"—without a backdrop of police clashes and bloody protesters and journalists.

The decision came as a surprise to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was praising city’s plans to host the G8 summit as recently as Monday morning, when asked about downtown businesses preparing for the possibility of having to board up windows if expected G8 protests were to turn violent.

“I think this is a unique opportunity for Chicago to showcase itself to the world, and the world to see the city of Chicago. I think our police department is highly trained, very professional, with the right leadership,” he said.

If nothing else, this is a public-relations victory for Occupy. As the news stories tell it, the mere specter of its presence has forced a major international event out of a major American city and into a fortified citadel. Whatever you might think of Occupy or the G8, the news creates a mental image of worried world leaders—without a popular mandate to lead—hiding out from their pissed-off citizens.

The NATO meeting is still planned for this May, and the city of Chicago has been rejecting permits for protest marches, arguing that there aren't a “sufficient number of on-duty police officers, or other city employees authorized to regulate traffic."